Government Affairs Committee

The Government Affairs Committee (GAC) keeps abreast of regulations and proposed legislation and guidelines related to clean water industry challenges, regulatory policies, and funding opportunities.

We have conducted a webinar on Water Quality Trading, developed position papers on Operator Training and on PCBs, and have supported committee members to take part in WaterWeek, where one person from each state meets with their members of Congress and/or their staff in Washington D.C. and share with them the Water Quality priorities for WEF-PNCWA members.

We meet by conference call once a month and have one in-person meeting at the Annual Conference.

News & Highlights

Mike Ollivant Congratulates PNCWA for Recent WIFIA AnnouncementRecently, King County qualified for a $129 Million WIFIA loan for the Georgetown CSO Facility. Mike Ollivant, former PNCWA President and current Government Affairs Committee (GAC) member, commented on the news to congratulate PNCWA and the GAC for their positive contributions. “One of the actions by PNCWA and the GAC has been to attend the fly-in in Washington DC and provide a message to our Congressional Representatives and Senators on the importance of clean water. One of many points articulated to Congress has been continued funding of clean water projects and specifically the creation of the pilot Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). WIFIA was created to fund larger more expensive projects which leaves more funding (such as SRF) for other project.

“It was great to seethis article and understand that PNCWA contributed to the creation of WIFIA and the support of clean water. It seems appropriate that we take just a moment to celebrate and acknowledge just one of many contribution by the association and its many members.”

WaterWeek 2017 Part 1: PNCWA Members Report on National Policy

On March 21, 2017, Bob Baumgartner, John Beacham, Mike Ollivant of the PNCWA Government Affairs committee flew into Washington, D.C. for the annual WaterWeek Fly-In, where water representatives from all over the country gather to talk water infrastructure and funding. In part 1 of their report from D.C., John, Mike, and Bob share a recap of the EPA briefing, thee issue of federal infrastructure funding, and the roundtables they attended on water issues. Continue Reading—

WaterWeek 2017 Part 2: PNCWA Members Meet with D.C. Representatives Next, John, Bob, and Mike split up to meet with representatives from each of our states—Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Our message was threefold: PNCWA is eager to help policymakers, specifically by offering to poll association membership to provide feedback for specific questions or to provide feedback on issues of interest to the lawmakers; funding for clean water infrastructure is a critical need, with particular focus on potential loss of funding for small communities through USDA; tools such as integrated planning, watershed based planning, and other innovative solutions to water quality issues need to be more fully explored and supported. Continue Reading—